Forgotten
by musicmuse20
Summary: She was the soul reaper that everyone forgot. Forced out of the Soul Society and into the world of the living, Elena Ukitake was doing just fine in her new life. That is until he showed up.
1. Prologue-A Beautiful Baby Girl

**Bold=sounds or actions**

_Italics=something that is thought rather than said verbally  
_

Disclaimer:I don't own bleach.

Edited: September 3, 2015

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Prologue-A Beautiful Baby Girl

_Words can not express the joy of new life. ~Hermann Hesse_

120 years ago—Soul Society—Ukitake Estate

A shrill cry rang out in the early morning air. Jushiro jerked his head up, startled at the abrupt interruption to the peaceful morning. A voice cried out, "Jushiro! Come quickly! Hurry!" Jushiro rushed to the source of the voice and came to a stop inside his mother's bedroom. His sister was there with a worried expression clouding her face, "Mother is fading fast. I did what I could to save both of them, but only the baby is going to survive the day." Jushiro looked down towards his mother, knelt beside her and took hold of her hand. Faintly the dying woman whispered to Jushiro, "Protect her Jushiro. Protect my Elena. Don't let him use her. She's….your only hope….." The dying woman was just barely able to finish her words before breathing her last. Jushiro bowed his head as tears leaked from his eyes and down his face. He looked to his sister as she handed him the newborn saying, "You are going to have to take care of her Jushiro. No one else in our family can. We are too busy dealing with out own affairs." Jushiro nodded not saying anything but instead looked down to the sleeping infant in his arms. She was the picture of perfection. A cute, button nose, and delicate tiny hands and feet. She opened her eyes and Jushiro was met with eyes the deepest, most rich shade of blue that he had ever seen.

He was completely mesmerized by his youngest sister Elena, until he heard a shout of surprise. His head jerked up to find the source of the disturbance and saw his other sister pointing to the bed once occupied by their mother. Instead of his mothers body there was a zanpakuto. It had a silver cross guard, instead of the typical bronze, with embedded amethyst and sapphire. The hilt was wrapped with black and white silk ribbons that extended past the end of the hilt. At the end of the ribbons were some kind of charms, that upon closer inspection Jushiro determined them to be the yin and yang symbols. At the end of the white ribbon was the yin and at the end of the black ribbon was the yang, that had the name Elena carved into it. The sheath of the zanpakuto had a metallic sheen to it that caused it to look purple or blue depending on the angle that a person looked at it.

Jushiro was puzzled, obviously this zanpakuto belonged to his infant sister Elena. But it was completely unheard of for someone, just minutes old , to obtain a zanpakuto. He decided that this was something he should discuss privately with the Head Captain, his old teacher.

Bright and early the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to peak above the horizon, Jushiro collected Elena and her zanpakuto and went to meet with the Head Captain. After explaining the events of the previous day, Jushiro paused waiting for the Head Captain's response. Several minutes passed before the Head Captain Yamamoto spoke, "This is indeed a mystery, however there is not much that we can do about it at this time. Therefore, Jushiro Ukitake, as Captain of Squad 13, I am assigning the following mission: You are to protect your younger sister at all costs. You are also to work towards unraveling the mysteries surrounding her. I will be assigning some other soul reapers to this mission. Come back here in one week to meet those who will be assisting you." Jushiro nodded before asking, "Do I have your permission to have my sister live with me in my Captain's quarters in the Squad 13 barracks?" The Head Captain nodded in consent, "Yes, as long as she does not interfere with your duties as Captain. You may go and get yourself and your sister settled." Jushiro nodded again and used chunk to leave Squad 1 and get to his own barracks without detection.

The week that Jushiro had before meeting the other soul reapers who would help him protect Elena, was filled with preparation. He remodeled his Captain's quarters at the Squad 13 barracks as well as his office so that wherever he was, Elena could be with him. He marveled over Elena at every opportunity. It had been a long time since he had a baby sister, so long in fact that he had forgotten that although babies were cute and lovable, they were a lot of work. One had to keep them clean, well rested and fed. Elena had no issues sleeping or with baths but eating was a different story. Jushiro had tried feeding Elena milk formula, but she would have nothing to do with it. This morning was no different, Jushiro was attempting to feed Elena, when a Hell Butterfly appeared summoning them to the Squad 1 barracks for the meeting.

Jushiro was the first one to arrive in Squad 1's meeting hall, aside from the Head Captain. He inquired, "Head Captain, where is everyone?" The Head Captain explained, "It was decided that the members of the this group would be introduced one at a time so that the child will not be overwhelmed by spiritual pressure. It will also lay the foundation for her to recognize her protector's spiritual pressure." Yamamoto signaled for the first person to come in. The door opened and in came Shunsui, Jushiro's friend and Captain of Squad 8. Shunsui having been previously briefed by the Head Captain, immediately headed over to Jushiro and held out his hands to take Elena. "Isn't she a cutie? You are one lucky man Jushiro. Little Elena here almost makes me want to settle down and have a kid of my own." Jushiro looked shocked beyond words. Shunsui chuckled, "Key word in there was 'almost' Jushiro." As soon as Shunsui finished talking the door opened and in walked Retsu Unohana. "Oh, how wonderful! A healthy baby girl with surprisingly high levels of reiatsu for someone so young." Unohana paused, thinking, "Let me guess, she won't drink regular milk?" Jushiro shook his head as Unohana suggested, "Try giving her milk that has some of your spiritual pressure mixed in with it. I will show you how to prepare it later." The door opened and as Unohana finished speaking two people walked in, Yoruichi Shihoin and Kisuke Urahara. They also fussed over Elena as Yoruichi took her from Shunsui's arms. Elena seemed very content with Yoruichi, going so far as to snuggle into Yoruichi's Captain's haori. "This baby is absolute adorable. I wish she was mine." Yoruichi said with a smirk. The door opened yet again and in walked Ginrei Kuchiki, who silently looked at the child and nodded before moving to stand next to the Head Captain.

Yamamoto addressed the group, "Now that you have all had an opportunity to meet the child there are some announcements that need to be heard. Captain Shihoin." Yoruichi stepped forward and faced Jushiro, who had Elena nestled in his arms again. "As head of the Shihoin Clan, I would like to announce that Elena Ukitake has been adopted in the clan as my daughter. She will be allowed to take which ever family name she desires and will remain in the care of her older brother Jushiro Ukitake. This adoption was completed in an effort to provide more protection for Elena and support for Jushiro." Yoruichi smirked at Jushiro as Yamamoto signaled for Captain Kuchiki to step forward and speak. "As head of the Kuchiki Clan, I hereby announce the betrothal of Elena Ukitake-Shihoin to my grandson, Byakuya Kuchiki, thereby uniting the Kuchiki, Shihoin and Ukitake clans." The Head Captain addressed the group one last time, "There is much mystery surrounding young Elena Ukitake, however we have been warned to protect her and protect her we shall. You all know the role you have been assigned, see that this mission is successful. Dismissed."

Jushiro was shocked, he was expecting the help of maybe some low ranking soul reapers, not Captains, let alone clan heads. Elena was going to be very well protected.

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**Review...please?**


	2. Til We Meet Again

**Hello. I am back. Finally. Finished University and am graduating in May! Woohoo! That means I will _hopefully_ have more time to actually write. Bad news...I am preparing to write the MCAT...which means the next four months are going to be insane with the amount of studying I have to do. Anyways, I edited this chapter and the next chapter so enjoy! :) (Some plot elements needed to be refined)  
**

**Ciao, musicmuse**

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**Chapter 1-Til We Meet Again  
**

_Parting is such sweet sorrow,__That I shall say good night till it be morrow._

_~Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 2_

Five years had passed since the meeting after Elena's birth. To Jushiro they seemed to fly by in a blur. It felt like just yesterday that himself and the other Captains assigned to this mission were mixing up infant formula together with their spiritual pressure and bottle feeding Elena. She reached most of the landmarks of childhood early, she was walking by herself at only 10 months of age, by 15 months she had good enough motor control that she could feed herself but the one thing she was slow on was speaking. Most babies start talking at 18 months of age, but Elena didn't start talking until a good 10 months after that standard marker. Now she had just turned five years of age and was going to be introduced to Byakuya and taken to the Shihoin estate to become better acquainted with her adoptive mother, Yoruichi, as well as learn about what being a daughter of the Shihoin clan meant. Jushiro, to say the least was worried, not so much about those as much as he was wary of Aizen. He did not like how that man looked at his young sister.

Another 5 years passed. Elena had a fun and playful relationship with Byakuya and was excited to be his betrothed. Yoruichi and Elena were inseparable and loved to harass Byakuya together, commonly stealing things of his like his hair tie to just annoy him. Elena had developed in to a well mannered if slightly mischievous girl. She kept her long, dark brown hair loose and free. Her hair itself was silky smooth and wavy, aside from the dark brown colour, she had a small patch of white and a small patch of dark, dark purple hair that were completely natural. Her eyes were the colour of amethyst.

Unfortunately Elena was not the only one to have changed in that time, Aizen was a growing concern to Jushiro, he couldn't prove that the man was doing anything wrong, but there was something about him that always had Jushiro on edge. Because of Jushiro's over-protective nature in regards to Elena, he requested that Kisuke make her a special gigai. One that could be used for an indefinite period of time and could retain memories of its own. He also asked the Head Captain to look into a way to erase all knowledge and memory of Elena, within the soul society. Jushiro was preparing to send his sister to the world of the living in case the worst should happen. The request for a gigai was easy enough to fulfill, however the second request was a lot more difficult. It could be done but every trace of Elena's existence would disappear from the soul society, even her own family would not remember her. There was also a catch, should Elena ever be seen by people in the soul society again, all those memories and records of her existence would come rushing back as if she had never left. Jushiro didn't like that there was that catch, but he found a way to deal with it.

"Yoruichi, there may come a time where I have to send my sister away to the world of the living. Would you be willing to go with her and not let her return until she has the power to match swords with the Captain's of the Thirteen Courts? Something is brewing that I fear will boil over soon and I want Elena as far away from it as possible." Yoruichi agreed without hesitation, "Although she is your sister, she is my daughter, where she goes I will go. Besides with me around she won't just be able to match swords with the Captains, she will be able to be a Captain."

It was just days after that conversation when the incident, that forced Jushiro to send his sister away, happened. The terrible night when 4 captains, 3 lieutenants and a member of the kido corps were turned into Visords. Kisuke knew that Aizen was to blame for that night but what he didn't know is that after he had his encounter with Aizen, a cloaked figure was sneaking into the Ukitake estate, into the room of Elena Ukitake brandishing a needle filled with a white substance. He also didn't know that unlike the transformations of the group he was dealing with, the transformation of Elena Ukitake would take years to manifest.

100 years later~Present Day~World of The Living~Karakura Town~Elena POV

Ring….The buzzer sounded. Gah…that means classes are going to start again. I made my way down from the roof-top to my classroom. As the teacher started teaching I completely zoned out. Why was I even here? I didn't belong here, I should be over there with my dearest brother. But neither did I belong over there. I kept musing to myself until I noticed that someone new was being introduced to the class. A new girl, Rukia. She immediately went to go sit next to the kid with orange hair. Damn it what was his name again…Ichigo…Kurosaki….meh…not my problem.

Class dragged on, but finally there was a short break. I decided to take a walk and stretch my legs. During the walk I stumbled upon Ichigo and Rukia. Maybe I should go say hi…But then I noticed that Rukia suddenly punched Ichigo and I saw him wearing a soul reaper uniform. Kuso kuso kuso! Not good! I can not let those two see me. My day went from terribly boring to terribly not good. "I think I need to go have a talk with Kisuke and Yoruichi. I can't afford to be found now. Not after 110 years of hiding."

"Kisuke Urahara. Get yourself out here right now before I come in there and pummel you!" There was a feisty woman pounding on the door of Urahara Shop. She was about 5 feet 4 inches, curvy body shape and long dark brown hair that had a patch of white and a patch of dark purple. She kept her hair up in a high ponytail most of the time.

Kuso. He better be in there.

That young woman was Elena Ukitake, and she was not pleased. But to say that would have been the understatement of the century. When I came to the world of the living 110 years ago that I was down right furious. I was ripped away from everything I knew and loved. Yoruichi explained how it was for my own safety and because my brother loved me so much. However she also explained that no one could know of my existence and that I would have to work hard to develop my soul reaper powers here in the world of the living just in case I ever would go back to the Soul Society. Kisuke even created a charm that suppressed all of my reiatsu so that I would appear like a normal human so much so that I would not be able to see any soul reapers, souls or hollows. It had been working so far….until today. Finally Kisuke poked his head out from behind the front door, "You called Ellie?"

"First off don't call me that anymore. I don't know how many times I have told you that. Second, this is not working." I held out my charm bracelet to him. "I think it is working just fine. I can't sense any spiritual pressure from you."

"Yeah well, why can I see the orange top soul reaper then?"

"Pardon?!" Kisuke looked immensely surprised. "Yeah, I can see this Soul Reaper with orange hair. He's in my class at school. I think his name is…Kurosaki…yeah….Ichigo Kurosaki." I paused before continuing on, "This new girl arrived at school today, Rukia, and then at break I see her and Kurosaki out in the yard where she suddenly punches him or something and his soul just left his body and then poof he is a soul reaper." Kisuke stared at me a good long minute before answering me, "Ano, how do I put this…yes everything you saw is true and the fact that you could see this and still have that charm working means you have finally learned how to control your reiatsu." I looked at Kisuke blankly, "Come again?! Explain that slowly, because I was sure that this thing you made me cancelled all my reiatsu."

"Well, it should in theory but only up until a certain point. That charm should negate reiatsu that reaches a level some where between that of a lieutenant and a captain, after that point it quits working. So, that would mean that your reiatsu level has finally reached that of a captain level and inactivated your charm, also meaning that you have learned how to conceal all your reiatsu. Overall, I have to say that I am very impressed, you have far exceeded my expectations."

"But you haven't quite met mine." I spun around at the voice behind me. "Yoru-kaa-chan" I ran to give her a hug…but then stopped short, "What do you mean I haven't met yours?"

"Oh nothing just that I promised your brother that I would raise you so that if you ever came back to the Soul Society you could immediately join the ranks as captain." "CAPTAIN?!" Kisuke and I shouted at the same time. I looked at Yoruichi like she was crazy, "But that would mean that I have to achieve banki. In addition I would have to be really good at other stuff." I was dejected. "Give yourself some credit," said Kisuke, "You have already mastered all the kido that Tessai and I have taught you. And you can perform high level kido without the incantation." "Not only that but you have almost caught up to me in your shunpo." Yoruichi smirked at me, "I might even have to start calling you Princess of the Flash." I looked at Yoruichi and Kisuke with tears in my eyes. Never in all my years of training with them had I received praise like what I was receiving now. It made all those hours of sweat and tears completely worth it. "But, we still have the issue of the banki." Yoruichi stated, "Kisuke do you have that special gikongan, that I asked you to make."

"Yes I most certainly did. And it is my best creation I might add, way better than a simple mod soul."

"What makes it so good?"

"Ha ha ha. My pure genius." Kisuke said before he got a strict glare from Yoruichi, "Okay, okay. I will explain. This gikon is different in that it is specifically designed for you, Elena. It will inhabit your gigai, but to everyone who sees it, they will not be able to tell the difference between it and you. It will respond to everyday situations at school the way you normally would based upon knowledge that is stored in your gigai."

"Wait, I didn't know that gigai store information."

"Normally they don't but I made yours different because your brother planned it so that I would prepare you a gigai that could be used indefinitely and could store information. But back to the gikon, basically it will allow you to stay here full time to train and go to school at the same time and while it is at school all of the interactions and experiences that it encounters will be recorded in the gigai so when it comes back at the end of the day you will be able to remember everything." I sat there stunned. "Why am I only getting this now?" Yoruichi answered, "Because I have a feeling you will be needed back home."

"Home? As in the Soul Society? Really? When? Why? Will I see my brother?"

"Whoa, slow down there. First you need to get started on your training. I need you to reach banki. So go home pack all your things, and come back here. We start training tonight." I didn't even bother to answer Yoruichi. I raced to the front door, slipped on my shoes and sprinted all the way home.

~~~~Meanwhile~~~~

Kisuke handed Yoruichi a cup of tea, "Do you think this is really wise? Teaching her banki?"

"Yes. It is time. Things are starting to move in the Soul Society. Rukia Kuchiki is here in the World of the Living. And you know as well as I do that it won't be long until someone comes to find her."

"I know, it is unavoidable. But I don't want Elena to be found just yet."

"Well they obviously won't send Jūshirō over to collect Rukia so I don't think we have to worry about that."

"Ya, but Yoruichi. How do we introduce Rukia and Ichigo and everyone to Elena? And what if it is Rukia's brother that comes to collect her? We could be running into some serious issues here."

"We will deal with it as it comes. But for now Elena will be down in your underground training facility so she won't run into Ichigo or Rukia."

"I just hope you know what you are doing." "So do I. Kisuke, so do I."

~~~~~~some weeks later~~~~~~

"Yoruichi. How is Elena doing?" Kisuke asked "She is almost there. How are Rukia, Ichigo and everyone else doing?"

"Good, although I sense that the team from the Seireitei is coming tonight."

"I see…well then I will go down and visit Elena."

~~~~Meanwhile in the underground training facility~~~~~~

"Rise, Twin Dragons of the Sun and Moon, Harutsukiryuunin" Elena released her zanpakutō dual shikai state. Okay now for the Yang banki release. Remember it is just like Haru told you. Elena remembered her time speaking with her zanpakutō.

~~~~~Flashback to Elena's inner world~~~~~~

"Haru! Tsuki! Where are you?" I called while sitting down on seemingly nothing. My inner world was divided on half was a beautiful clear blue sky with the sun while the other side was the dark night sky filled with the moon and stars. Haru showed up first, as usual, was a ball of energy, which was ironic considering his name meant Sun. Tsuki was slow in arriving, she did not get along that well with Haru mostly because they were stark opposites. As the name of my Zanpakutō suggested, they were twins. Haru was male with dark black hair that had both a golden and sapphire streak that reminded me of the sun on a clear blue summer day. Tsuki was female with hair of white, with an amethyst and black streak that reminded me of the night sky. They wore kimonos that were the exact opposite of each other, Haru's was light yellow, almost cream colour with a sapphire blue belt, Tsuki's was black with an amethyst obi. They both had a necklace around their necks, it was silver with a single charm. Haru's charm was Yang and Tsuki's charm was Yin. At least my Zanpakutō had a sense of style. "Why are you here Elena?" Miku asked. "I need to learn banki." Tsuki and Haru looked at each other, Haru grinned while Tsuki rolled her eyes. Haru answered, "Finally, we have been waiting for you to say that." "Huh? Really? You mean I don't have to fight you about this?" "No, not at all. We know you are more than ready for this. We have seen how much you have been training for the last 100 years. After all we have been beside you every step of the way." I jumped up and hugged Haru and Tsuki. "I love you both." Yes, I knew it was strange to love your Zanpakutō, but they had been with me all the time, even when no one else was. "Listen closely Elena and we will tell you how to achieve our banki" "Woah hold on there, dearest brother," Tsuki sneered, "I never once said that she could learn my banki." "Sister, are you really going to be this stubborn?" "Teach her your side of the banki if you want, our banki's can be used individually after all. But I will not be teaching her mine, not yet, it is not time." I stared at my Zanpakutō as they argued, "How is it possible that you have separate banki releases?" "Technically we don't have individual releases our power is meant to be used together to balance each other out," at this Haru paused and glared at Tsuki, "however because of the completely opposing forces of our release we can separate them, but not indefinitely. You will eventually need to learn Tsuki's release to stabilize our power."

~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~~~

"Illuminate, Haru Rikai shimasu" Elena shouted as Yoruichi walked down the stairs.

"She did it. She really did it." Yoruichi muttered to herself. Yoruichi revealed her presence to Elena, "You have done extremely well Elena." Elena blushed from receiving a compliment from Yoruichi. "Now, Elena, I need you to follow Rukia tonight. But whatever happens do not reveal your soul reaper form. You can only reveal your gigai. Understood?" "Yes, ma'am." "Good. Now go get into your gigai and get going. You should be able to sense where Rukia is."

Elena quickly left the underground training facility and slipped back into her gigai. "Man, it still feels weird getting that sudden rush of information and memories every time I get back into this thing…guess I should get going." Several minutes later, Elena identified the weak spiritual pressure of Rukia. Elena found Rukia and walked up to her, "Hi Rukia!" "Ah! Hi Elena-san…" Rukia looked both shocked and worried to see Elena, "What are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you go home?" "Saa, who knows? I was out taking a walk and then I noticed you and though it would be nice to walk with you for a while." Elena smiled happily. "Ah….okay…." Rukia seemed hesitant. I knew instantly the moment that the soul reapers arrived, not only from the sudden spike in reiatsu but by the look of terror that was now on Rukia's face. Play it cool…you can't let them catch on that you can see them. "Is something wrong Rukia-chan?" "Oh no! Nothing at all! Really I am going to be heading home now, so you should too! I will see you later." Rukia gave me a very panicked wave good-bye, when the two soul reapers suddenly showed themselves. One of them had red spiky hair…kinda like a pineapple. The other one, carried a certain air of dignity about him, and he seemed very familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on where I knew him from. He reminds me of Kuya-kun from my time in the Soul Society before my brother sent me to the world of the living but there person I remember was young and nowhere near this cold. That's it, I wanna meet these people. I just can't show my soul reaper form, but Yoruichi never said anything about not saying hi. I stepped out of the shadows that Rukia thought she had pushed me into, interrupting the red hair's monologue that was directed at Rukia. "Hey, who the hell do you think you are? Can't you see you are scaring my poor friend? And did you really think that you let her dodge that attack? Tsk tsk. Are you really a soul reaper? Couldn't even tell that I was here?" "What the?!" the red pineapple guy shouted. "I would have to concur, what is you think you are doing to Rukia-san?" Uryū suddenly appeared saying. "Who the hell are you people?" Uryū answered for us, "We are Rukia's classmates." "Well, I would say more like friends, but classmates works too." I added.

"Elena and Uryū, what are you doing here?" Rukia asked slightly panicking. Uryū answered first "Just passing by, nothing for you to worry about. But if you must know I had a sudden urge to stop by Sunflower Seeds for needles and thread. It's not like I sensed the presence of soul reapers and needed an excuse to find you." I answered next "Well I could say that I was walking my dog, but I don't have a dog. I could say that I needed fresh air, but I didn't. So I will just say, I had very good tip that I would find something interesting here." I smirked. Uryū and Rukia gave me a cold stare. I just shrugged. The red pineapple guy kept on blabbing on about something and ended up fighting Uryū. I jumped out of the way taking Rukia with me, all the while keeping my gaze locked on the soul reaper who had yet to say anything. His gaze was locked with mine. "Elena." Rukia called my name and the moment she did the other soul reaper's eyes went wide with shock for some reason. "Rukia, who is that?" I asked pointing to the soul reaper. "My older brother."

"Older brother…" Wait a second…Rukia's last name was what again…Kuchiki…why did that name sound so damn familiar. "What is his name Rukia?"

"Byakuya." Kuso...

~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

"Kuya-kun! Come and get me!" A little girl yelled with a smile on her face. "Ellie-chan! Slow down. You are too fast!" A slightly older boy replied with a look of annoyance on his face. "But I am not that fast! I am no where near as fast as Yoru-kaa-chan!" The little girl giggled with excitement as the young boy was almost catching up to her. ~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~

"Kuya-kun?" I whispered, hoping no one could hear me. "Ellie-chan? No it can't be. Elena Ukitake ceased to exist 110 years ago." His eyes narrowed. While I was having my flashback, Renji took down Uryū. As Renji was about to deliver the killing, Ichigo finally decided to make an appearance. Rukia moved to try and stop Ichigo but I held her back. "Let him do this on his own." as I said that Ichigo was hit. Renji began another monologue, Ichigo got in a hit and Byakuya verbally reprimanded him. Honestly I found the entire thing more than slightly hilarious. "This Renji character is quite cocky isn't he, Rukia?" I commented as Renji went on about something about knowing his zanpakuto's name and was preparing to attack Ichigo.

That was when I decided to do something more than just protect Rukia, I jumped in front of Ichigo and caught Renji's sword, stunning everyone present. "How?" Renji asked stunned "How can you catch my sword with your bare hand? You're just a...just a..." I smirked again "A lowly human. Ha if only you knew" At that comment Byakuya's eyes widened as if he just realized something.

Suddenly everything disappeared from my sight, and I was lost until I saw a flash of orange and purple. "Kuso! Elena! He wasn't supposed to recognize you." Yoruichi was mad. "I am sorry."

"Baka…it wasn't totally your fault. But now this means I am gonna have to change my plans a little bit."

"Change your plans?"

"Yeah, I was going to have you enter the Soul Society before Ichigo and his friends but now I need to postpone your entrance. I need you to train Ichigo along with Urahara, as well as work more on your Banki and shunpo. You must wait until I call you to enter the Soul Society with Ichigo. Can you do that for me?"

"Hai."

"Good" Yoruichi smiled "Now head back to Urahara's shop."

"Hai." I smiled back at her before turning to look at Byakuya and said quietly "Til we meet again...Kuya-kun."


	3. The Passing of Time

**Hello. I am back. Finally. Finished University and am graduating in May! Woohoo! That means I will _hopefully_ have more time to actually write. Bad news...I am preparing to write the MCAT...which means the next four months are going to be insane with the amount of studying I have to do. Anyways, I edited this chapter and the previous chapter so go back and read it! :)**

**Ciao, musicmuse**

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**Chapter 2-The Passing of Time  
**

_Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. ~~Joyce Meyer_

I was there waiting for Urahara and Ichigo to come back when suddenly I heard Urahara call out, "Ellie come help me" I rushed out to grab Ichigo's other arm and help Urahara bring him into the spare room. Once Kisuke cleaned him up he told me to wait with Ichigo and to let him know when Ichigo wakes up.

I waited patiently, and finally when I saw that Ichigo was finally beginning to stir I decided it would be fun to scar him a little bit. I crawled under the blanket and laid on top of him. I had almost drifted off to sleep when I was rudely awoken by a scream. "AAAAAHHH" Ichigo almost broke my eardrum with that scream "What are you doing Ukitake-san?" I smirked decided to play up the situation a little, " Why Ichi-kun, how cold you are? After last night I thought we would be on a first name basis." I watched as Ichigo's face was drained of all colour. The door slid open, "Now, now Ellie-chan. Don't go making up stories, and get off Ichigo. Your brother would disapprove" Kisuke laughed slightly and began talking with Ichigo in an attempt to get Ichigo to train with us for the next 10 days.

Ichigo's first opponent was Uruyu. He kept on acting like he was scared to hit her. That just made me laugh, but Ichigo passed the lesson and learned how to breathe easier and restore his spirit energy. Ichigo's second lesson dealt with his chain of fate. He ended up regaining his soul reaper powers but not before a strange hollow mask appeared on his face. His next task was to remove Kisuke's hat, or better put, knock his hat off. There was no time limit but Ichigo got cocky and said he could do it in 5 minutes.

Right now Ichigo was probably thinking that Kisuke's sword wasn't a zanpakuto but he couldn't be further from the truth. I should know, the number of times that I have battled against Kisuke and that sword, it was terrifying. I am not really one to talk considering how scary my zanpakuto can be but still.

**CRASH! ** I was brought out of my musing with Ichigo declaring, "Don't take this the wrong way Mr. Urahara but I hope you dodge this, because I can't control it yet." The next thing I saw was Kisuke's hat flying off his head. I started clapping as Kisuke declared lesson three cleared and Ichigo passed out. When Ichigo woke up he battle Kisuke and myself for the rest of the time until Kisuke told him to go home and wait for the gate to the soul society to open.

One particular moment stood out for me as I was fighting Ichigo. I had been fighting with Ichigo for several hours using my unreleased zanpakuto and kido when Ichigo finally snapped "Elena-chan please fight me seriously, release your zanpakuto." I paused considering his request for a minute "Fine under one condition, drop the -chan honorific on my name" Ichigo simply nodded "Deal, Elena." I backed away from Ichigo, "Rise, Twin Dragons of the Sun and Moon, Harutsukiryuunin" my sword split into dual swords. Both swords had a silver cross guard, instead of the typical bronze, with embedded amethyst and sapphire. The sword in my left hand had a hilt that was wrapped with black and blue silk ribbon with a yang charm, while the sword in my right hand had a hilt that was wrapped in white and purple silk ribbons with a yin charm. Ichigo looked shocked, "Woah, you have two zanpakutos?" I shook my head "Not really. It is one zanpakuto but yet it is two. I guess the easiest way to explain it would be yin and yang, 2 halves to one whole. It is one zanpakuto that is composed of two individual spirits. In my left hand I hold Haru, the yang, the bright part of my zanpakuto; in my right hand I hole Tsuki, the yin, the dark part of my zanpakuto. Haru controls the Yang energy meaning he can control positive energy, such as light or heat, as well as having control over the mind. Haru's banki is the only one that I have learned so far, so I do not yet know what Tsuki's release is, however I have a general idea. Tsuki controls the yin energy, meaning she can control negative energy such as the dark or cold, as well as having control over the body. Together I can both create and destroy. But that is all that you are going to know for right now." I then attacked Ichigo with Haru and slashed at his clothes causing it to catch on fire. I then slashed the same place with Tsuki and took away the fire as if nothing happened. "See. That is just one example of what I can do." After that Ichigo continued to fight with Kisuke while I left to work on my shunpo. I needed to be as fast as Yoru-kaa-san before she allowed me into the Soul Society.

The day that Ichigo and his friends were supposed to go to the Kisuke approached me, "Ellie, Yoruichi wants you to stay here for an extra day and then take a different senkaimon and wait at her hideout until she comes for you." I simply nodded and resumed my training.

~~~~~Fast forward to the time when Ichigo and his friends are within the Seireitei (cause I don't feel like writing all that out)~~~~~

"Elena!" I looked up from my meditation with my zanpakuto, "Yes, Yoruichi?" "Let's go! It's time. We have to stop that dumb idiot from dying." Yoruichi quickly set off with shunpo, I was close on her heels. Not to brag or anything but the was once where I was actually ahead of her by a hair.

~~~~~a few minutes later~~~~

I could see Ichi-kun facing him, facing Byakuya Kuchiki who was about to release his zanpakuto. Then Yoruichi stopped it, surprising everyone there. Then I appeared beside her. I saw someone with white hair behind Ichigo. "Nii-san…" I was not given any time to greet my brother. Yoruichi was suddenly attacking Ichigo, but I realized it was just to knock him unconscious. I caught him as he was about to fall back and pushed him forward into Yoruichi's arm. "Really Yoru-kaa-chan? Was that necessary? I think you went a little overboard there…" I laughed quietly. "Elena, follow me, pick up the idiot's zanpakuto and don't let Byakuya-bo catch you." I pouted "Awe come on. I won't let him catch me. He only caught me a few times when we were kids! Besides I have grown so much since then." Nii-san looked shocked "Elena? Is that you?" The white haired man spoke. I turned around and smiled, "It has been awhile Ju-nii-san." I couldn't stay for long as I sensed Byakuya almost behind me. I flash stepped away, shocking both Byakuya and Jushiro. I followed Yoruichi, when I heard her announce that she would make Ichigo stronger than Byakuya in only three days, I couldn't help but smirk. Three days, this I will have to see. Yoruichi nodded at me before she took off, she was allowing me a minute with my brother. Byakuya left. I jumped down to land in front of my brother after he had dealt with Rukia and the injured man. "Hello Jushiro."

"Ellie, no, you have matured too much just to be my little Ellie, now you are my Elena. Why are you here?"

"Yoruichi told me it was time to come back. But I don't have much time. I have to follow Yoruichi. I promise I will see you later." I used shunpo to follow Yoruichi, arriving at her hideout a minute after she did. I walked in to Ichigo saying something about him defeating Byakuya. I announced my presence with a laugh, "Really are you a baka, Ichi-kun?" Ichigo spun around to look at me confused, "Elena-chan?! What are you doing here?"

"Ouch I am hurt. You added the honorific back on. Harsh. I thought we were better friends than that." "Gomen Elena?" "Really why was that a question? Either you are sorry or you aren't." I smirked at him and finally he smiled " Sorry Elena." I moved to stand beside Yoruichi as she explained that Ichigo was going to achieve banki in only three days. Whoo boy. Three days. That is pushing it. But I totally understand why Yoruichi wanted me here. She wanted someone for Ichigo to practice his banki against. But still I don't think that is fair for him….He will never come near to my banki. This was going to be an interesting three days.

~~~~~some time later in Yoruichi's hideout~~~~

**Boom. Crash**. There he goes again. What attempt is that again? I have totally lost count. My zanpakuto suddenly materialized beside me. "Do you really have time to be watching that other shinigami, El?" Haru asked. "No, I guess I don't." I turned away from watching Ichigo and prepared to activate banki again. "Weren't you supposed to train with Ichigo?" Tsuki inquired. "Well that's what I thought but we have been down here who knows how long and he doesn't have banki yet so how can we fight him" I replied, "Besides I somehow get the feeling that it wouldn't be a fair fight just yet. Sure his reiatsu is rising but it is still not near our level." "Alright enough!" Haru exclaimed, "Enough chit chat and snap back to training." Hmph someone is grumpy and it wasn't Tsuki for a change. "Iluminate…." Bang. Crash. "Woah what on earth was that?" I thought Ichigo had another terrific blow delivered against him but when I suddenly turned around I saw the red pineapple guy. I ran over to him to see if he was okay. "Hey! Are you alright?" The guy turned and stared at me. "You're that girl from the world of the living! What in the world are you doing here?" Wow this guy must be oblivious considering I have a soul reaper uniform on and a zanpakuto in my hand. "What do you think I am doing here? I asked if you were okay! That looked like a pretty hard landing." "Oh…yeah…I'm fine that was nothing….WAIT…don't evade my question! WHO ARE YOU?" "Okay well, that was not your original questions. You asked 'What in the world are you doing here?' I am training, obviously. Now as to who I am." I extended out my hand in greeting, "My name is Elena Ukitake. Nice to meet you. And you are?" "…Renji…Renji Abarai…wait you said Ukitake, are you related to Captain Ukitake of the Gotei 13?" "You betcha! Ju-nii-san is my older brother, but I haven't seen him, or any one really for a long, long time. But I am back now and that is all that matters." "Ah…I see…and I am guessing that there is long story behind all of that…" "Hnn well you could say that…" "Then I don't want to hear it." "Huh?!" "I am here to train my banki. Want to train with me? I can tell by your reiatsu that you must have a banki." "Yeah! YAY! Finally someone new to train against! Usually I only get to train with Kisuke or Yoruichi. I was supposed to train with Ichi-kun over there, but he is taking forever to achieve banki." "I HEARD THAT!" yelled Ichigo. "WELL IF YOU DID AND HAD TIME TO RESPOND TO ME IT MEANS YOU AREN'T TRAINING HARD ENOUGH!" I shouted back to him. "So ready to go Renji?" "You bet." With that Renji and I started to fight against each other. I mostly stayed in my shikai state because he hadn't quite master banki. He was very close.

~~~~a few hours later~~~~~~

Really? He still hasn't gotten banki yet. I can tell that he is so close, as if it is on the tip of one's tongue. 'El! Activate Haru's banki!' Woah, I had heard Haru, but never Tsuki, in my thoughts before. Normally they just manifest or I enter my inner world. I didn't really want to go to banki because I thought the fight would end very quickly if he couldn't match my actions and achieve banki, but Haru and Tsuki have never been wrong in their advice. "Banki! lluminate, Haru Rikai shimasu." As soon as I released banki I felt a spike in Renji's reiatsu, the next thing I knew was hearing Renji shouting, "Banki! Hihiō Zabimaru!" He did it! I immediately pulled back, "You did it Renji! You really did it!" Renji had this stunned look on his face that was quickly replaced with a smug smile. "Of course I did it! I never fail to reach a goal that I have set."

"Wow confident there, aren't ya?"

"Ha. But I have to ask, why did you suddenly go in to banki and then pull back?"

"Oh well, Tsuki told me to activate my yang banki so that you could achieve your banki. Don't ask me how they knew cuz I have absolutely no idea. I pulled back because you are not strong enough to counter my banki just yet. Sorry, I just didn't want to see my new sparring partner killed."

"Tsuki, who on earth is that? Yang banki?"

"Harutsukiryuunin, is my zanpakuto. I have twin zanpakuto. But they are different than most twin zanpakuto. Unreleased it is a single sword but in it's shikai state it splits into two swords. It is a pair of twin dragons…hang on a minute and you can meet them." Suddenly Haru and Tsuki appeared beside me in their human form.

"What?! You can get them to materialize that easily? That's cool."

"Haru, Tsuki, meet Renji. Renji, this is Haru and Tsuki!"

"We know who he is El." Haru said. "Yes, we did just fight against him." Tsuki added.

"Oh I guess you are right…well anyways…"

"You said that I am not strong enough to counter your banki. Just what is your banki?" Renji queried.

"It is exactly like it sounds. Iluminate. Haru controls the Yang energy meaning he can control positive energy, such as light or heat, as well as having control over the mind. Haru's banki is the only one that I have learned so far, so I do not yet know what Tsuki's release is, however I have a general idea. Tsuki controls the yin energy, meaning she can control negative energy such as the dark or cold, as well as having control over the body. The real fun comes in when I combine them to balance their power. I haven't had much time to work with Haru's release but the general idea is two fold, it can either take a physical manifestation such as fire, which is a combination of light and heat. The non-physical manifestation would be taking over partial control of my opponents brain and making them feel as if they are on fire when in actuality they are not. In theory Tsuki's power would be the opposite of Haru's, instead of fire, her release should be ice. Instead of taking over the brain, she should take over the body and cause paralysis. When I perform either release on their own they are maybe at half power; when I release them together they have a completely different attack. When they are together I have access to both positive and negative energy which means I could deconstruct and then reconstruct differently both the physical environment as well as the concept of reality, at least that is my theory. "

Renji stared blankly at me like he had no idea what I was saying. "Okay let me try to make this simpler. Do you know what a phoenix is?"

"Yes."

"Okay so like a phoenix can be completely destroyed again and then rise anew, I can destroy something and then recreate it differently from what it originally was. Did that make more sense?"

"Hmm, I think so? But man how would you even counter that?"

Suddenly Yoruichi appeared behind me, "Actually it is quite simple. Elena's zanpakuto is basically doing an electro-chemical reaction. As such if it doesn't occur at the right conditions it won't occur at all or it will over react. To counter you must simply disturb the conditions or distract Elena from maintaining the conditions. For you, you would have to distract her because the blast from your zanpakuto would not cause enough heat to disrupt the conditions. Someone like Captain Hitsugaya would have a better shot at disturbing her conditions because he has command over ice."

"That being said, the more I practice and train with my zanpakuto, the more control I have and the less likely someone can block my attack but it will take many, many years to have perfect control. That and the fact that I still have yet to learn Tsuki's release, so the process I described to you is impossible for me to achieve at this moment." I added on. Renji just looked back and forth from Yoruichi to myself, "Well then. I am glad that you do not know your zanpakuto's full release ." "Ha, yeah it would be bad if I killed you. I have a strange feeling we will need as many comrades as we can get in the near future."

It was the evening before Rukia's execution and it still didn't look like Ichigo was going to make it in time. I had finished my daily sparing with Renji and was relaxing with him in the hot springs when he asked, "Why is there no knowledge of you in the records of the Soul Society?" I sighed because this would take some explaining. "About 110 or so years ago I still lived in the Soul Society with my family. My mother died minutes after I was born and the rest of my siblings couldn't look after me because they all had their own families so the task fell to Jūshirō. Anything else, you will have to ask the Head Captain because it's _'classified'._ My brother loved me and would do anything and everything in his power to keep me safe. Even if that meant sending me away and erasing all traces of my existence. So when a certain incident happened 110 years ago I was sent out of the soul society to live in the world of the living."

"But that must have been hard not only on your brother and family but also on you? How on earth did you manage?" Renji asked in a voice mixed with concern and anger. "Oh I managed. I had Yoru-kaa-chan and Kisuke-ji."

"So what did you do for the time you were in the world of the living?" Renji asked. I paused to reminisce "Well I did a lot of things. When I first came here I went to school for the first time and graduated from high school when I was 18. After that I decided to pursue music and dancing for about a decade. Then I went back to high school and graduated again. After that I went to university and got a degree in science and then a degree in medicine and did research into different incurable diseases for about a decade then I went back and did the same thing, always coming back to medicine and research, probably because of my brother. I kept repeating the cycle because I don't age like everyone else does so I can't stay in one place for more than about 12 years otherwise people start getting suspicious so I would change my hair and my name and start all over again. During this entire time I was also training with Tessai, Yoruichi and Kisuke."

"Damn. That sounds like a crazy busy life. What did you do for fun?" Renji joked. "Hmmm nothing…? My music was very fun and relaxing so was my dancing." I replied seriously. We lapsed into a comfortable silence for several minutes during which I closed my eyes and began to nap lightly. Suddenly I heard a thump behind me a looked up to see, "Yoru-kaa-chan?!" She had dumped Ichigo beside the hot spring. He had obviously exhausted himself for the day and needed a small respite. Yoruichi crouched down beside me and whispered in my ear, "Elena, I need you to do me a little favour. Can you go a deliver a message to Shunsui?" I nodded and she handed me my clothes so I could get out of the hot spring and leave to go run her errand. "Thank you Elena. Once you are done delivering the message you can go visit your brother. I have a feeling it would be beneficial if he saw you." She smiled as I finished dressing and picked up my zanpakutō and the letter addressed to Shunsui. I flashed Yoruichi a smile, "Later Yoru-kaa-chan. Bye Renji."

~~~~8th Division Barracks-Captain's Quarters~~~~~

I could just make out the faint outline of Shunsui sprawled out on his bed completely unaware of my presence due to the fact that I was concealing my spiritual pressure. I decided to have some fun and began to slink up to his bed and….POUNCE! Wait a minute these are all pillows where the heck is Shunsui?! Suddenly I was flipped over and pinned down with a hand covering my mouth to prevent me from screaming. I panicked before for I heard a voice "Shhh calm down there pretty lady." I heard chuckling before the voice continued, "I know I am amazing but I never though a complete stranger would pounce on me in my own bedroom." I stilled and slowly the hand was removed from my mouth, "Oh come now Shu-nii, I didn't think I was a stranger to you." I teased and suddenly the lamp beside the bed was turned on. "Elena?!" Shunsui exclaimed in a loud whisper. "You betcha!" I replied and launched myself in to Shunsui's arms. Shunsui was like a brother to me and next to Jūshirō, he was one of the people I missed the most. Shunsui hugged me tightly, "You're back! You're really back! My little Ellie-chan." Shunsui was on the verge of tears. I patted his back gently and he let me go, "Yes I am back Nii-san. I have something for you from Yoruichi." I handed him the letter. He read it over then looked back at me, "Things are coming to a climax, aren't they?" I simply nodded as he sighed, "I can't believe how big you've grown. You are no longer my little Ellie-chan, you are a beautiful young woman now. Just wait till Captain Kuchiki sees you now." I had to chuckle, "We'll see Nii-san, we will see. But as much as I would love to stay with you and chat I have to go visit my brother before the night is over." With that said I stretched up to give Shunsui a light kiss on his cheek and a quick hug before I vanished out his window without giving him a chance to respond or protest.

Honestly what he said about Byakuya caught me off guard. When I was a child I followed Byakuya around everywhere, everyone said what a good match we were. During my musing I had quickly made it to the 13th Division Barracks. I slowed my flash step down and double checked that my spiritual pressure was concealed before opening the door to my brother's quarters. He was sitting with his back towards the door working on what I recognized to be the Shihōin Shield. Ah so this is what Yoruichi meant by he needed my help. While in the World of the Living, Yoruichi taught me about her clan and the different Hogu that they safe guarded as well as how to undo the seals that protected them. My brother had still not noticed my presence so I walked into the room and quietly announced my presence, "Tadaima Ju-nii-san." He looked up from his work, "Okaerinasai" he replied as I bent down to give him a hug. "I have missed you so much, imōto." I sniffed and wiped my eyes as tears leaked out, "I have missed you as well aniki." I was home, finally home, my patience came to fruition.


End file.
